The inauguration event of the new UCAM Master’s Degree in International Criminal Law and International Legal Cooperation was held in Madrid, with a presentation by José Ricardo de Prada, a criminal judge at the National Court and who was for a time an international judge at War Crimes Chamber of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

During his presentation, the magistrate analysed the most relevant sentences for which those responsible for the most atrocious international crimes of the 20th century were condemned, specifically those crimes that took place in Rwanda, Argentina and the former Yugoslavia. In his presentation, he stated that “jurists interested in International Criminal Justice bear a great responsibility to preserve the future of humanity in the face of its great challenges, violence of all kinds, cruelty and injustice. The courts of the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda marked a new era for international criminal justice. They served to eradicate the idea and culture of impunity that traditionally accompanied the most serious and massive violations of human rights, which allowed the International Criminal Court to be established at the end of the 20th century as one of their great achievements. Undoubtedly, it was a great advance for humanity”.

The event was attended, among others, by several judges of the Supreme Court, the head of the Equality Section of the Illustrious Bar Association of Madrid or the prestigious criminal lawyer Manuel Ollé Sesé, who is a member of the faculty of the Master’s Degree.

During the presentation, the director of this new Master’s Degree, Juan Carlos de la Cerra, thanked the different national and international bodies that have contributed to the implementation of the Master’s Degree for their support, and he pointed out that among the activities they intend to organise, there is a visit to the National Court and the International Criminal Court, based in The Hague.